It’s Fun Food Friday and today’s screed comes out of my recent trip. Over the years, our group figured out that the cost/value equation for the roster of restaurants in Myrtle Beach was way out of whack and we’d be far better off cooking for ourselves a few nights. The condos where we stay have grills and we take full advantage of them.

This year, as we were roasting a hundred oysters (we’re big eaters in every sense) and prepping our beef fillets, there was a group of guys using the adjacent grill. It turned out they were Air Force Academy classmates who get together every year to play golf and catch up.

What struck me was how there was an instant bond forged between the two groups. The commonality of food, cooking, and the reason we were in Myrtle, (golf), made for an immediate connection. Before long, food samples were being passed between the two groups, smack was tossed back and forth from the Yankees and Red Sox fans, and dinner got made.

Isn’t that what all of us are attempting to do with our customer base? Recognize the common connection and forge a relationship? Extending our conversation about the food into where they were from, what courses they were playing,etc. is analogous to a consumer giving up more information to a marketer. It’s all a conversation. Imagine if we have simply stood there and talked about our group, our golf, and our food? Think they would have been engaged with our spiel? My guess is they would have smiled and turned back to their food.

You need to cook with your customers (OK, maybe not literally). It’s inherently about being social and it’s all part of that conversation about common ground that keeps them engaged and you in business.

The oysters were great although we could have used a better knife with which to open them. The beef was well-seasoned and we managed not to overcook it as we did the pork loin (hey – it was dark!) the night before. The best part of the meal was the new friends we made and the business lesson we remembered.